The primary purpose of this blog (Prithviraj Kothari - MD, RSBL | Bullion market blog) is to educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.
This blog contains my opinion, which is not to be construed as investment advices.
Information provided in these blogs is intended solely for informative purposes and is obtained from sources believed to be reliable

RSBL Gold Silver Bars/Coins

Tuesday, 19 September 2017

In 2016, gold was seen climbing 6% from $1050 to $1150 and another 10% gain during the first half of this year, in July and again in early August, gold prices dropped down to $1210, before rallying back up both times to $1290 and $1350 per ounce respectively. This back and forth price action has some investors worried if this is a real bull market in gold or yet another flash in the pan for the coveted yellow metal?

Reasons being more than one, Investors arereturning to gold again to prudently diversify their stock-heavy portfolios. That’s very bullish for gold, as investment capital inflows can persist for months or even years. This shift is most evident in the yellow metal.

There are a couple of issues pushing and pulling at the market. The reaction to the missile launch last week has been a bit negated by that better-than-expected (US) inflation number.

Spot gold slipped on Friday, shrugging off North Korea's latest missile launch over Japan, with strong US inflation data raising the spectre of another interest rate hike.

Let’s have a look as to how each factor was responsiblefor this wave like movement in gold prices.

North Korea - North Korea fired a missile on Friday that flew over Japan's northern island of Hokkaido far out into the Pacific Ocean, South Korean and Japanese officials said, further ratcheting up tensions after Pyongyang's recent test of a powerful nuclear bomb.

US Data - Geopolitical risks can boost demand for safe-haven assets such as gold and the Japanese yen. The yen slipped against the dollar on Friday, after earlier having risen on the news, with the greenback supported by strong US consumer inflation data.

Gold pared losses after data on Friday showed U.S. retail sales unexpectedly fell in August and industrial output dropped for the first time since January due to the impact of Hurricane Harvey.
Friday's numbers were in contrast to strong U.S. inflation data on Thursday which increased prospects of an interest rate hike in December.The Fed's next monetary policy meeting begins on Sept. 19 and now the marketis increasingly focusing on the Federal Reserve and its probability of another rate hike this year.

The Fed has a 2 per cent inflation target, and a series of subdued inflation readings have dampened expectations for further rate rises in the near term. Firming inflation could support the case for another rate hike. Interest rates tend to boost the dollar and push bond yields up, putting pressure on gold.

ECB - Gold fell on Friday after a European Central Bank official called for scaling back the bank's stimulus programme; although losses were capped when weaker than expected U.S. economic data raised questions about further rate hikes.

ECB board member Sabine Lautenschlaeger made the most explicit call so far from an ECB policymaker for paring the bank's 2.3 trillion euros money-printing programme.

Data showing that euro zone wages grew at their fastest rate in two years in the second quarter bolstered the case for reining in ECB stimulus.

This was rather a bad news for gold because this continues the trend of the market pricing in the normalization of monetary policy.

But he said there had already been plenty of headlines about the ECB planning an exit from its bond buying and the U.S. Federal Reserve reducing its balance sheet after its big quantitative easing programme.

Those "normalisation" actions by central banks tend to drive rates higher, push bond yields up and put pressure on gold, a non-yielding asset.

Summing it up, though the previous week saw gold moving like a see saw; the focus now shifts to the important FOMC meet due on 19th September. Wait, Watch and then Work would be the only trading tip for the time being.

Tuesday, 14 March 2017

Gold prices have fallen 5.3% from the end of February high and they have almost given back 50% of the December to February gains

Gold prices slipped towards week low on Thursday as investors awaited the employment report due on Friday, a factor that would unofficially strengthen the interest rate hike in the FOMC meet next week.

Gold’s latest pull down followed the release of better-than-expected US private jobs data midweek, boosting the dollar ahead of the release of official monthly payrolls figures on Friday.

Private employment, which excludes government agencies, rose by 227,000 after a 221,000 increase the prior month. It was the biggest gain since July. Construction jobs, which can fluctuate depending on the weather, rose by 58,000, the strongest in almost a decade, and followed a 40,000 increase in January. Manufacturing payrolls gained 28,000, matching the most since August 2013. Meanwhile, retail positions fell by 26,000, the most in four years.

The ECB held its benchmark refinancing rate at 0% and left the pace of its bond purchases unchanged on March 9th, as widely expected. Both the deposit rate and the lending rate were also left steady at 0.4% and 0.25%, respectively.

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits went up by 20000 to 243000 in the week ended March 4th 2017, slightly above expectations of 235000.

2008 Nonfarm business sector labor productivity in the United States increased at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.3 percent during the fourth quarter of 2016, following a downwardly revised 3.3 percent rise in the previous period and below market expectations of a 1.5 percent gain.

While unseasonably warm weather may have boosted the payrolls count, the data represent President Donald Trump’s first full month in office and overlap with a surge in economic buoyancy following his election victory. The figures also corroborate recent comments by Federal Reserve officials that flagged a likely interest-rate increase this month.

Bullion’s being pulled back down toward $1,200 an ounce in the worst losing run since October as positive US economic data underpinned expectations that interest rates could probably be raised several times this year, starting with a hike next week.

After raising rates just a single time in 2015 and also in 2016, the pace may quicken this year. The so-called dot plot from Fed policy makers shows an expectation for three increases this year, and last Friday, Yellen dropped hints the bank might end up having to hike them more than planned in 2017.

After Wednesday’s upbeat private payrolls data, markets were pointing towards more than 90 % chances of rate hike in March meeting; gold prices are likely to face the weakness amidst the strength in the dollar. Separately, the weaker CPI released from China is also likely to put pressure on gold, given the fact that gold is considered as a hedge against inflation.

Gold prices slipped on Friday, building on a loss for the week as better-than-expected U.S. employment data backs the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will decide to boost interest rates at its meeting next week.

Higher interest rates lift the appeal of holding dollars. That also means that a stronger dollar cuts the worth of holding non-yielding gold that’s priced in this denomination.

We see this sell-off as tied into the increased chance of a US rate rise next week. Looking further out, sentiments for the yellow metal are bullish.

Monday, 13 February 2017

While when gold was just about to continue to maintain its 3 month high last week, there was a sudden pull back and gold prices moved lower by the end of the week.

Gold steadied on Friday, but remained below the week's three-month top as the U.S. dollar and Treasury yields came off their highs after the currency initially jumped on U.S. President Donald Trump's promise of a major tax announcement.

Gold was being pushed and pulled amidst various factors that played key roles in influencing gold prices-

Interest Rate - Gold slid on Thursday from a three-month high in the previous session after strong U.S. economic data pointed to a robust economy, increasing the possibility that the Federal Reserve will raise U.S. interest rates.
U.S. economic data has also strengthened talk that the Federal Reserve would press ahead with U.S. interest rate hikes sooner rather than later.
Gold is highly sensitive to rising U.S. interest rates which increases the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion while boosting the dollar in which it is priced.

Dollar and Data - U.S. economic data also underpinned the dollar. Initial jobless claims unexpectedly dropped last week to a nearly 43-year low, while inventories at wholesalers surged in December for a second straight month. U.S. import prices rose more than expected in January.
The data showing rising U.S. wholesale inventories and an unexpectedly low number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits further pushed up the dollar and U.S. bond yields.
A stronger dollar makes gold more expensive for holders of other currencies, while higher yields increase the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding bullion. Higher interest rates would lift yields further.

Tax Announcement - Donald Trump plans to announce the most ambitious tax reform plan since the Reagan era in the next few weeks, the White House said.
On Thursday, sending stock prices and the dollar higher on hopes leading to a cut in corporate tax rates.

French Elections - Investors are concerned about the strong showing in the French presidential race of far-right candidate Marine Le Pen, who has promised to take France out of the euro zone and to hold a referendum on European Union membership.

Gold held near 3-month highs on Thursday as political risks from elections in Europe and worries over U.S. President Donald Trump's policies buoyed safe haven demand for the bullion.

While gold was stabilised by Friday. It was still amongst the favourites for investors. Many of them are being bullish for gold – Reasons being :

Controversy over U.S. President Donald Trump's temporary travel ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries has recently boosted gold as a safe-haven asset.

Further geo-political uncertainties, increasing hostilities in the Ukraine, Greek bailouts, French elections, Iran-U.S. sabre-rattling have supported gold prices and drawn interest from investors who seek support in safe haven assets.

Investors' bullish stance on gold is reinforced by an increase in net longs by speculators and a rise in holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world's largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund. (SPDR holdings rose 0.68 percent to 832.58 tonnes on Wednesday from Tuesday, rising for a sixth straight session.)

Increasing uncertainties has increased the demand for gold as a hedge. Amidst all this, gold prices are expected to rise till Mid Feb. Once January CPI data is released, it will give an idea about the possibility of a rate hike in March which will then be a deciding factor in the movement of gold prices.

Tuesday, 29 November 2016

Gold has been witnessing downward pressure since the past two weeks. But in the last week this pressure became so austere that we saw gold dipping to its nine month low below the important$1200 level. At $1180 gold hit its lowest level since early February. Furthermore, Good US economic data, which caused the US dollar to appreciate, had fuelled the next wave of selling on last Thursday noon.

The US dollar index climbed to its highest level since March 2003. Furthermore, US stock

Markets continued to rise, which suggests on-going high levels of risk appetite among market

Participants, while yields on ten-year US Treasuries climbed above the 2.4% mark again for

the first time since July 2015.

The US dollar index has continued to strengthen amid positive US economic data while putting pressure on the gold price. The index had reached as high as 102.05 on Thursday, the highest since March 2003.

In addition, gold ETF’s witnessed massive outflow, thus reducing their holding by 13.7 tonne putting them at a five-month low of only a little over 1,900 tons. This was already the tenth consecutive daily outflow.

During this period, ETFs have had their holdings cut by a total of 101 tons.

Although gold in euro terms is faring somewhat better thanks to the firm US dollar, at €1,122 per troy ounce it nonetheless fell to its lowest level since early October.

The spot gold price eased during Asian trading hours on Friday November 25 as a strong US dollar continued to weigh on the yellow metal.

The US was closed for Thanksgiving holiday on Friday which resulted in quieter trading leading into the weekend.

Gold recovered from an earlier nine-month low and moved into positive territory on the morning of Friday November 25 in London, reflecting a pause in the dollar’s rally.

This sentiment continued for this week, giving gold a positive opening on Monday.

Gold was in positive territory on the morning of Monday November 28 in London, with a slightly weaker dollar generally underpinning precious metals prices.

The dollar index was recently at 101.05, having been as high as 102.05 in the previous week, it’s highest since March 2003.

The spot gold price was recently quoted at $1,192.00/1,192.30 per oz, up $8.20 on the previous close. Trade has ranged from $1,187.05 to $1,197.70 so far.

The spot gold price edged lower during Asian trading hours on Tuesday November 29 as the US dollar regained strength.

Growing sense of ‘opportunity cost’ among investors could be behind a surprise fall in the value of gold, after the precious metal failed to live up to its status as an inflation hedge and safe asset.

Softer spot prices may encourage physical demand while the holiday seasons in both Asia and Europe approach.

Before the UD election, gold was expected to trade unpredictably but now that prices have more or lessstabilised, market for gold is expected to be bullish. Moreover, Mr. President has been talking tough on trade which further raises uncertainty and create nervousness in the market thus keeping the bullish trend alive for the yellow metal.

Gold should provide a good hedge against fallout from what political policy changes lay ahead, as well as from any correction in super-charged markets.

The commodity, traditionally regarded as a safe haven for skittish investors, was among those assets viewed as a potential winner in a year marked by significant market shocks and rising inflation expectations – which many now predict during a stimulus-happy Donald Trump presidency.

This sentiment, however, is yet to be borne out by the price of the precious metal. While other hedges such as inflation-linked bonds have performed relatively well, gold has been trending downwards, both in the months leading up to the US election and its aftermath.

Tuesday, 25 October 2016

Gold prices appear to have found a base either side of the $1,250 per ounce,
basis spot, with prices now getting some lift and silver prices are well placed
to challenge recent resistance $17.78 per ounce

On Friday, 21st October, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said at a mortgage
conference that "it makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate
increases, preferably sooner rather than later." His comments followed
recent hawkish talk from central bank officials including New York Fed Chief
William Dudley and Fed's vice chair Stanley Fischer, which prompted investors
to price in an interest rate increase this year.

The main concern currently is the conflicting scenario between Fed officials
like Fischer and Dudley who have been signalling a rate hike before the end of
the year, while the ECB has arguably signalled a likely extension of its asset
purchases.

The ECB kept interest rates at historic lows last Thursday, and its
President Mario Draghi kept the door open for more stimuli, effectively
quashing any speculation that the bank was poised to taper its 1.7 trillion
euro asset-buying programme.

Being only a few days before the U.S. presidential election, many analysts
are not expecting the Federal Reserve to take any concrete steps.

However, expectations for a December move jump to 75%, the highest it has been
all year as we see all the action happening in December.

As we head into what has seasonally been the best time of year for the
sector, here are a few possible major data release that could influenced gold prices during coming months.

November 4th: The Non-farm Payrolls Report (NFP) for
October will be released on this date. The gold sector usually
sells off into this report and becomes very volatile after the release as
trades are set beforehand based on the expected number of jobs created. This is
a highly anticipated report as the results will be heavily factored into the
Fed’s decision process of whether or not to raise interest rates in December.
The market is factoring in a 70% chance of a quarter point raise on December
14th as of this post.

November 8th: The US election could very well be a major promoter
as during the last Presidential Debate, Donald Trump made accusations of the
election possibly being rigged against him. He has also stated if defeated, he
will not commit to accepting the outcome, stating “I
will tell you at the time”. This is a very dangerous statement and could
easily trigger violence after the outcome. Also, if victorious, the decision
could very well cause a “Brexit” type response in the gold sector as Trump is
the anti-establishment candidate.

December 2nd: The release of the final NFP report before
the highly anticipated last Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC)
meeting of the year will be released . This could possibly be the
deciding factor on whether or not Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen decides to raise
rates this year.

December 14th: On this date the market will finally find
out the answer to the question of, “will she, or won’t she”. If the Fed decides
to raise rates at the conclusion of the December 13-14 FOMC meeting, the gold
sector could initially sell off as it did last December. This could be a buying opportunity as rising rates have historically been
bullish for gold as we saw back in the late 1970’s when former Fed chair Paul
Volcker raised rates to over 20%. During this time gold had the largest bull
market in history as it soared from $105 in September, 1976 to $850 in January,
1980. Also, in December of last year after 7 years of zero rates, the Fed
finally decided to raise rates a quarter point.

There are a lot of major U.S. reports coming and if the data is positive
then there is no reason why the U.S. dollar can’t go higher and that could hurt
gold. So as the world waits the month of December for its Christmas Celebration,
the financial markets await the same month as a lot of action is bound to take
place.

The primary purpose of this article by Mr. Prithviraj Kothari is to
educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.

Gold prices appear to have found a base either side of the $1,250 per ounce,
basis spot, with prices now getting some lift and silver prices are well placed
to challenge recent resistance $17.78 per ounce

On Friday, 21st October, San Francisco Fed President John Williams said at a mortgage
conference that "it makes sense to get back to a pace of gradual rate
increases, preferably sooner rather than later." His comments followed
recent hawkish talk from central bank officials including New York Fed Chief
William Dudley and Fed's vice chair Stanley Fischer, which prompted investors
to price in an interest rate increase this year.

The main concern currently is the conflicting scenario between Fed officials
like Fischer and Dudley who have been signalling a rate hike before the end of
the year, while the ECB has arguably signalled a likely extension of its asset
purchases.

The ECB kept interest rates at historic lows last Thursday, and its
President Mario Draghi kept the door open for more stimuli, effectively
quashing any speculation that the bank was poised to taper its 1.7 trillion
euro asset-buying programme.

Being only a few days before the U.S. presidential election, many analysts
are not expecting the Federal Reserve to take any concrete steps.

However, expectations for a December move jump to 75%, the highest it has been
all year as we see all the action happening in December.

As we head into what has seasonally been the best time of year for the
sector, here are a few possible major data release that could influenced gold prices during coming months.

November 4th: The Non-farm Payrolls Report (NFP) for
October will be released on this date. The gold sector usually
sells off into this report and becomes very volatile after the release as
trades are set beforehand based on the expected number of jobs created. This is
a highly anticipated report as the results will be heavily factored into the
Fed’s decision process of whether or not to raise interest rates in December.
The market is factoring in a 70% chance of a quarter point raise on December
14th as of this post.

November 8th: The US election could very well be a major promoter
as during the last Presidential Debate, Donald Trump made accusations of the
election possibly being rigged against him. He has also stated if defeated, he
will not commit to accepting the outcome, stating “I
will tell you at the time”. This is a very dangerous statement and could
easily trigger violence after the outcome. Also, if victorious, the decision
could very well cause a “Brexit” type response in the gold sector as Trump is
the anti-establishment candidate.

December 2nd: The release of the final NFP report before
the highly anticipated last Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC)
meeting of the year will be released . This could possibly be the
deciding factor on whether or not Fed chairwoman Janet Yellen decides to raise
rates this year.

December 14th: On this date the market will finally find
out the answer to the question of, “will she, or won’t she”. If the Fed decides
to raise rates at the conclusion of the December 13-14 FOMC meeting, the gold
sector could initially sell off as it did last December. This could be a buying opportunity as rising rates have historically been
bullish for gold as we saw back in the late 1970’s when former Fed chair Paul
Volcker raised rates to over 20%. During this time gold had the largest bull
market in history as it soared from $105 in September, 1976 to $850 in January,
1980. Also, in December of last year after 7 years of zero rates, the Fed
finally decided to raise rates a quarter point.

There are a lot of major U.S. reports coming and if the data is positive
then there is no reason why the U.S. dollar can’t go higher and that could hurt
gold. So as the world waits the month of December for its Christmas Celebration,
the financial markets await the same month as a lot of action is bound to take
place.

The primary purpose of this article by Mr. Prithviraj Kothari is to
educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.

Thursday, 15 September 2016

Though gold slipped consecutively for
3 days, past week ended on a positive note and stayed on track for a second
successive weekly gain driven by diminishing expectations of a looming hike in
U.S. interest rates.

The metal was up 0.7 percent during
the week, holding on to nearly half the sharp gains it made
on last Tuesday after a weak U.S. data instigated talks that the Federal Reserve
will hold off raising rates at its September policy meeting.

Spot gold was down 0.25 percent at $1,334.60
an ounce at 1152 GMT on 9th September, while it peaked $1,352.65 an ounce after
rallying 1.8 percent on Tuesday.

Reasons being the same- Fed Hike, US
data, US dollar and ECB. These factors have been repeatedly influencing gold
prices since quite some time. Yes I know that we have discussed these points
time and again, and we all know that they
keep influencing gold prices but thee way and the extent to which they influence
does change every week and hence we once again throw light on this week’s gold’s
behaviour-

ECB- On Thursday, the European Central Bank (ECB)
decided to maintain its current bond-buying programme and kept interest rates
unchanged, surprising investors who had expected another round of quantitative
easing in the wake of the UK’s vote to leave the single market.

The ECB’s unexpected stance led to a broad-based
selloff in the commodities sector, while also fuelling a dollar rally – last
trading at 95.45 on the dollar index, the highest point in a week.

Analysts and traders believe that The ECB’s decision
would also increase the likelihood of the US Federal Reserve implementing a rate
hike before the year end.

Global Data- Meanwhile in a slow data day, US wholesale
inventories for July were unchanged, missing expectations of a 0.1 percent rise.

Overnight, China’s August CPI came in at 1.3
percent, below July’s reading of 1.8 percent and market forecast of 1.7
percent.

The Chinese August PPI fell 0.8 percent, improving
from a drop of 1.7 percent in July and better than consensus of a one-percent
drop. August, however, marked the 54th straight month of decline.

Weak global data pushed gold prices high over the week.

US Dollar- Prices have largely moved in
concert with the dollar – against a basket of currencies it recently hit a
multi-week low and was last trading at 94.56. But investment demand in gold and its
potential upside remain capped

The combative rhetoric – along with employment
claims coming in better-than-expected at 259,000 – led to a minor dollar
revival earlier during US trading hours.

Gold has rebounded strongly but
have seem too stabilised between $1,355 and $1,375.25 and analysts believe to remain more or less in this
trading range. But with the dollar looking weaker, we would not be surprised if
gold prices work higher. The rest of the precious metals would follow suit.

Fed Hike- Richmond Fed President Jeffery Lacker said on
Wednesday the case for a September hike was going to be “strong” and echoed his
colleague Esther George who said that she too saw the US labour market approaching
full employment.

Market participants currently see a 21 percent
change of a US rate hike in September, with majority expecting it to happen in
December, according to the CME FedWatch Tool.

Gold prices will trend higher still in near term,
largely driven by lower Fed tightening expectations. Gold prices are expected to boost further, given
that the Fed is unlikely to move in September and the current probability of a
September move is likely to ease further.

The Federal Reserve will meet on September 20-21
and again on November 1-2 before the country goes to the polls on November 8.
Given the looming presidential election and the forecast-missing jobs report
for August, the US central bank is widely expected to hold off on raising rates
until next year at the earliest despite increasing hawkish rhetoric from FOMC
members.

Federal Reserve Bank of Boston President Eric Rosengren, who
shifted his stand in recent months in favour of monetary
tightening, warned Friday that waiting too long to raise interest rates
risks overheating the economy. Higher rates make bullion less competitive
against interest-bearing assets. The comments come a day after the European
Central Bank played down the prospect of an increase in asset purchases.

In the two-week run-up to the Fed’s next policy meeting,
additional US economic data releases will further inform the market’s view of
rate hike probabilities. At the current time, the greater likelihood is that
there will be no September rate hike. If this continues to be the case, gold
could potentially break out above the noted downtrend line and $1350 resistance
level. In this event, the next major upside targets are at the mentioned $1375
high, followed by the key $1425 resistance objective.

The primary purpose of this article by Mr. Prithviraj Kothari is to
educate the masses of the current happenings in the Bullion world.